The Saltram chair is always explained to visitors as having been designed to
be sat on back to front, and its appearance suggests it - the seat is narrow
at the back and much wider at the front. There is a picture of someone
sitting in it, as described, in R. Fletcher "The Parkers of Saltram" BBC,
1970. It sounds like it might be identical to the one at Belton, having the
bookrest in a sliding brass strip. The bookrest is rather poorly designed
and constructed - it seems to be rather close to the back of the chair for
the comfort of the reader's eyes, it isn't big enough to support anything
much bigger or thicker than a novel (though this was perhaps the idea!), and
the prop that supports it sits in an inadequate groove at too acute an angle
and hence collapses violently if anyone so much as breathes within about 6
feet of it! I don't know whether it is any more stable with the weight of a
book on it, but it is probably in too fragile a condition to try.
It seems possible that the Parkers of Saltram were suckers for devious
devices, as the library (whose shelves are not terribly high) also possesses
no less than two sets of steps which fold up into other pieces of furniture.
Perhaps the reading chair came into the same category.
Elizabeth Quarmby Lawrence
Gang Farmhouse, St Ive, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 3NB (01579) 362342
At 10:54 PM 11/30/99 +0000, you wrote:
>Chris: (and apologies for cross-posting on the lists)
>
>There is a reading chair in the Library at Belton House, which always
>attracts a lot of attention from visitors. It is probably late 18th
>century - I can check later on its exact description. It has polished
>wooden arms coming about two-thirds of the way round a circle (i.e. not
>a padded back), and a book-rest on a sliding brass strip so that you can
>have the book at any point on the circumference. The idea of this, we
>tell visitors, is so that ladies could sit semi-side-saddle, rather than
>astride as men would do, and still have the book in fromt of them.
>
>Such chairs are also called "cockfighting chairs" from their use by
>spectators of this "sport". I'm sure I have seen illustrations of such
>chairs in use for this purpose - usually by excited young men with pipe
>and glass in hand!
>
>Shall I see you at the LHG on Thursday? I might be able to bring an
>illustration of the Belton chair.
>
>Regards
>
>Peter
>____________________________________________________________________
>Peter Hoare, 21 Oundle Drive, Wollaton Park, Nottingham NG8 1BN
>Tel/fax 0115 978 5297 E-mail [log in to unmask]
>_____________________________________________________________________
>
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